MN Music Makers

Recorded near the end of October 2024. No interview for this one, just a personal wrap up. Been telling myself off and on this last year maybe try to get one more in. But if I actually put a "last" label on it, it's easier for me to make it official. The Harris/Trump Election is near. It's been a year...and some months. Updates on the job, and possible future career endeavors. In depth notes on my...

This episode was recorded on 8.15.23 The main reason for this episode is to further the donation outreach for those affected by the senseless act of violence that happened at Nudieland. A little reflection from myself, and the Seward concert that occured the day after. If you want to find out more, I'd encourage you to check the @undercurrentmpls page on Instagram. You can donate here, and please...

Recorded April 30th, 2022 To put it simply, Mayyadda is a vibe. We had this interview after she had been up all night from a gig in Duluth with her band, drove her drummer to catch a flight, and make it back to the cities and still have this conversation with me. Not only that, but within the first few minutes asked me if it was ok to swear on the program, which to me is a huge sign of respect eve...

Recorded March 19th, 2022. Dan Chizek was on my original list of people I wanted to talk to when I started planning this program. A guy I’ve seen around in music since high school, and after being reminded of CPS, was like “oh yeah, we played a lot more bills together than I thought”. Like many, I thought he was mainly a guitarist due to the popularity if his band, Hardcore Crayons, appearing on b...

In the second episode of season two, I had the pleasure of meeting vocalist Uncle T (@your.uncle.t.) For an artist who got her start just a few years ago, she has seriously gotten a lot done in the twin cities music scene. Starting off at open mics and winning competitions at Fifth Element and Can Can Wonderland, Uncle T soon found herself hosting her own hip hop events. After managing a few of th...

Welcome to a new season with MN Music Makers. To get us started, I got to sit down and talk with a hip hop artist who has been at it for over a decade. Phil tells me about his time at Fifth Element, the hip hop record store that was run by Rhymesayers and hosted many open mics in its day. After using that as a way to test new material and stage presence, he continued to gain momentum as Chris Mich...

For my first episode of the year I have Eva from Umbrella Bed and her daughter, Alice who has a few music projects of their own. Eva explains how she ended up on the French Horn in her younger years, and has certainly made her stand out on any stage. We talk about how she got started with Umbrella Bed, European tour adventures, and playing almost every bar around town. Her daughter, Alice, then te...

A brief overview of the year. Thankful for what I've been able to accomplish and the friends who have helped me along the way. Onward to hearing from new artists, especially in the hip hop community, upcoming this next year. Cheers to the end of this year, and really appreciate all of you for listening.

For this end of the year episode, I catch up with my friend Cory. Former bassist for our thrash metal band, Mutagen, he tells me about his earlier experiences getting started in music. After our band dispersed, he branched out to start bands with other locals. He relives some of his time with Svoboda, a doomy, loud as fuck metal band that he helped start up. And honestly I can't help but smile and...

This week concludes my interview with Albert. We discuss Wisconsin, and how he's not surprised to hear about a basement punk scene in Appleton, Wisco. Albert tells me about some memorable touring shows he saw, including The Misfits and a lackluster after party with the entourage for The Casualties. The history of The Dropsteppers is further explained, and how their sound evolved from a previous pr...

Todays episode features Albert Perez, who has played lead guitar in numerous projects since the early 2000s. Originally from Sheboygan, he tells me about how his father bought him his first guitar and getting started in a punk band back home.  After deciding he needed a change of scenery from his hometown, his sights settled on Minneapolis. From there he met many musicians over the years, and join...

This week I sat down with an old friend, Bryan Highhill. We talked about playing trumpet for his first bands in early high school prior to forming The P. Lacquers, which bonded a group of friends for years to come. Some discussion was had of how much recording has transformed in the short time of us growing to adulthood. And how booking shows has switched from gaining new fans to how many fans are...

On October 30th, 2021 I got the chance to sit down and talk with my friends Liz and Peter. Liz I have known for a number of years through high school into early adulthood, and her husband Peter who I have had the pleasure of getting to know over the years. We chatted about the early years, how they both got into music mainly through family members. Liz starting off with and continuing to play viol...

Laying out a preview of what the podcast will be about. Interviewing MN musicians, their life, finding music, projects they've been involved in. All from various genres so we can see things from their perspective.